[Impact of COVID-19 on some neurological and psychological features in epilepsy]. / Vliyanie COVID-19 na nevrologicheskie i psikhicheskie proyavleniya epilepsii.

The new coronavirus infection spread around the world in a very short time and turned into a pandemic with a wave-like flow for more than two years. COVID-19infection affects selectively various organs and systems, including the nervous system; neurological manifestations have been reported, including anosmia, encephalopathy, stroke, epileptogenic disorders, which necessitates studies of the course of brain diseases, among which epilepsy occupies a significant place.

[Clinical and neurophysiological parameters in patients with epilepsy in the long-term period after COVID-19]. / Kliniko-neirofiziologicheskie pokazateli u patsientov s epilepsiei v otdalennom periode novoi koronavirusnoi infektsii.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical and psychophysiological assessment of the dynamics of the condition of patients with epilepsy in 4-6 months after the coronavirus infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An open controlled prospective comparative outpatient clinical and physiological study of patients diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering from COVID-19 (after 4-6 months) of moderate severity (n=16), patients diagnosed with epilepsy who did not suffer from COVID-19 (n=7), a control group (n=11) after confirmed COVID-19 (after 4-6 months). All groups were in the age range 23 to 50 years. Clinical/neurological and somatic research included: anamnesis, neurological examination, questioning, ECG, EEG, clinical and psychometric tests. RESULTS: There was an increase in the representation of epileptiform activity in the background EEG and more pronounced activity in provoking samples compared with background recording in 26.5% of patients who had suffered COVID-19 compared with the group of patients with epilepsy who had not suffered COVID-19. The detection of rare epileptic seizures in 18.8% of cases in the group of epilepsy patients, who underwent COVID-19, indicates an increase in epileptogenesis and a decrease in therapeutic control over seizures. At the same time, 87.5% of patients in this group showed a statistically significant increase in the influence of the sympathetic nervous system on the regulation of heart rhythm and an increase in anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: The results can complement the understanding of the neuropsychiatric status of patients with epilepsy after COVID-19, which provides prerequisites for the development of optimal recovery directions in the rehabilitation period to maintain drug remission of epilepsy and reduce the possible progression of the disease.